


Over and Under

by Ziggy51511



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Dark, Gen, Genocide, Other, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-05-11 16:49:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5633956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ziggy51511/pseuds/Ziggy51511
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Disturbing thoughts had to go into this, beware!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Grim beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Just the intro bit, really I tried to mold it as close to the opening sequence of the game as I could. It's got some twists and whatnot.

               It didn’t feel like a fall, more like a descent, like they were being carried to the ground with some sort of purpose, as if the powers at be wished them no harm. Impact was jarring but painless, in fact, there was little to no sensation in their body at all. As they found themselves seated among a small bed of golden flowers, they were filled with an odd kind of determination.

               A single beam of light was all they knew in the patch of plants, it hardly illuminated further than a few feet outwards in any given direction, there weren’t any discernable walls or passages to be seen, either, alone they sat while the ends of their extremities tingled in a sickening anticipation. What was to come? Stationary observation didn’t interest them any longer, they clutched the modestly sized stick they had been carrying before the journey firmly in their hand, and followed, rather blindly, the draft of wind that gushed from the top of the opening in the mountain to what was assumed to be another open part of the chasm.

               Their eyes adjusted to the lack of light, the distance put between them and the oasis of life only strengthened their resolve to find a way out, by whatever means necessary. Eventually they came upon a stone archway, column work like what was described in Grecian architecture, that lead into what seemed to be a void by comparison to where they’d come from. They pressed onward.

               Having lost their guiding winds from behind, they ventured tentatively through the darkness, until more light could be seen in a room ahead. Before them lie another patch of ground, similar to their landing zone. Except this patch of ground bore only one flower.

               They walked towards the center of the room, more or less avoiding the patch of ground due to the intense light shift, until the flower shifted, and upon the center was a smiling face. It practically squeaked in greeting, “Howdy! I’m Flowey, Flowey the Flower!”

               They paused, not so much shocked at the prospect of a talking flower, but the feeling of familiarity that this particular flower exuded. The Human frowned, unable to pin why they seemed to remember this being. It spoke again, “Hmm…” it almost sounded mocking, “You’re new to the Underground, aren’tcha?”

               It’s voice was almost painful to the ears, with how false the emotion felt in every word. “Golly, you must be confused” it continued. “Someone ought to teach you how things work around here” it… smiled a little wider. “I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!” and in that moment there was a darkening around their vision, as a red light floated from the human’s chest, and took the form of a heart in front of them.

               The flower, “Flowey” the Human supposed, continued, “See that heart? That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being! Your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV.” The Human cocked an eyebrow, as if prompting an explanation was really necessary for this narcissistic flower, “What’s LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course!” The human rolled their eyes and sighed. “You want some LOVE, don’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!”

               There was a faint glowing around the pedals of the flowers face, some sort of energy was being brought up and concentrated. The human didn’t really feel like it was “LOVE” that was gathering. “Down here, LOVE is shared through…” The balls of light formed more clearly in a half circle above the flower, “Little white…” it stalled, as if trying to think of what to say, “’Friendliness Pellets’” it finished, lamely.

               The human tensed, grip on their weapon tightening, ready for whatever sick joke this had to be. “Are you ready?” Flowey asked, cheerfully anticipation seeming to be the first real emotion heard in their voice, “Move around, get as many as you can!” And at that, the lights moved in on the red heart that represented the Human’s supposed “SOUL” by some force of will, the Human guided the soul away from the “Friendliness Pellets” launched by Flowey.

               Upon dodging, the face of the flower visibly fell, “Hey buddy, you missed them.” It replied flatly. “Let’s try again, shall we?” More white lights appeared and flew towards the Human’s soul, and again they dodged. Their tone fell again, blatant annoyance playing across their face, “Is this a joke? Are you braindead? MOVE. INTO. THE. BULLETS.” More bullets flew, and Flowey corrected itself after the fact, a detail unnoticed by the once again dodging Human. The flowers face morphed, sockets becoming sunken, and the mouth becoming wide and fanged, it’s voice dropped the chipper tones and took on a deeper, more ominous octave, “You know what’s going on here, don’t you? You just wanted to see me suffer” bullets appeared in rapid succession, fully surrounding the human’s soul with no chance of escape. “DIE” it uttered with a monstrous laugh, as the bullets tightened around the human’s soul.

               A new presence was felt, and the bullets disappeared, a ball of flame materialized and crashed into the flower, forcing it’s retreat, then a goat monster appeared from the shadows, a look of concern on her face, “What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…” her voice was soft, “Ah do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins.” her expression softened, “I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come down here in a long time.” Toriel’s tone hung heavy, as if remembering a pain from long ago, she quickly rebounded, “Come! I will guide you through the catacombs! This way.” And off she went ahead, leading the way through the caverns.

               The only options were to turn back, and see if climbing the walls would yield anything useful, or stay the course and see what happens. They decided to follow after Toriel, keeping in mind the oddities they were sure to find further in the Ruins. Toriel led the human into a series of rooms and traps that she either guided them through, or clearly labeled the solutions to on the walls, even holding the human’s hand through one. They got to what seemed to be the end of the tough puzzles, and Toriel presented the Human with an old cell phone before departing with words of assurance that she’d be back for “the child” at a later time and to stay in the room they were in. Not likely.

               As soon as they were left to their own devices, free from the protective glare of the goat-woman, the human was able to explore the Ruins a little further. They’d find piles of leaves, and even “Monster Candy”, the latter they’d stock up on until the bowl fell to the floor.

               Leaving the room, the human came face to face with a frog-like monster, initiating a battle with it. As with the flower, their soul drifted from their body into a darkened field; where they lead the red heart away from dangerous attacks. This battle was the first free, unsupervised encounter of the Ruins, and the possibilities were… exciting.


	2. LOVE the EXP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where things get just a little violent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the weird formatting and random indents, it doesn't seem to like copy/paste. Also, I'm abandoning the bullet box from here onward for a more free battle style that still incorporates monsters attacks.

The human wasn’t sure if the frog monster was aware of what was about to happen. The creature looked half unsure of It’s actions as it hopped closer them, summoning small flies to attack. The assaulted human dodged nimbly, gripping the stick in their hand, then charging the monster swinging for the limbs. There was a clear cry of pain, and the cracking of internal structures on impact, but no blood, strange.

               Somehow, the expression on the monster’s face changed to a more aggressive form, and the attacks became a little more desperate, but the results were the same. Again the small human dodged, and retaliated, severing a limb this time, and still no blood, in its place was a strange dust. The limb itself soon crumpled and turned to the same grayish powder as well, leaving the froggit groveling in pain and physically disabled.

               “Interesting…” the human remarked, the word extended and tone tinged in a sickening delight at the turning events. Rather than finish the creature off outright, they decided to hack at the other limbs, to see what would happen, and as before they dissolved into a pile of dust as the monster cried out in pain, garbled words echoing off the stone of the ruins. The human decided to drive one end of the stick through the head, watching as the rest of the body fell into itself, a twisted and deranged smile on their face.

               They continued their venture, eager to see what lied behind every corner. Surprisingly, the place was pretty empty for a room or two, until they heart a slight shuffling behind them, then, “Don’t pick on me…” as they were approached by a monster at least as large as they were, horned and mostly one big eye, it looked intimidating at first, causing the Human to jump a little as they turned to the sound of it’s voice.

               They distanced themselves from the monster, stick raised, the question not whether or not to strike, but where, and how hard. The human smiled, practically bursting with determination as they edged forward towards the monster, receiving an odd expression from the Loox. Before the enemy could launch an attack, the Human swept the Looxs’ feet out from under them with the stick, sending them to the ground, a soft “ouch” was uttered in response. Without pause, the human struck out again, ignoring the general rules of a fight, breaking a horn and garnering a much more satisfying howl of pain as the appendage fell to the floor in fragments.

               The Loox stood and attacked with it’s magic, sending whirling spheres after the human. The attack was a lot more wide-spread than the Froggit’s they’d encountered, and they even suffered a graze or two, but immediately retaliated by bashing a leg inwards causing a scream of pain, and moisture to gather in the over-sized eye of the beast.

               The human circled around the Loox, bashing the other leg on the way around, forcing the knee to buckle backwards, a hoarse cry escaping the creature’s mouth, causing it to fall forward and support itself on it’s arms. A swift series of strikes rained down on the back of the Loox’s head, causing more cries of pain to let loose into the room of the ruins.

               All the noise attracted the attention of a couple Moldsmal and a Migosp, which proceeded to aid the failing Loox. The three newcomers quickly surrounded the Human, cockroaches and white bullets rushing them as they attempted to dodge them all, taking some damage.

               Feeling crowded, the human quickly struck, full force, on the Migosp, ending it’s life in an explosion of dust that coated them, and the monsters. Turning their attention to the Moldsmals, the Human quickly dismembered one with several devastating blows, chunks of it’s body flying off before the central form finally disintegrated.

               As the human turned their attention to the second Moldsmal, a series of orbs flew into view at deadly speeds, the unexpected attack from the forgotten play thing managed to make a direct hit, the magic dissipating on impact, and sending the human flying backwards in pain. They quickly recovered, dodging a bullet hell created by the remaining Moldsmal, and lashing out on the injured Loox, turning it to dust with a blow to the eye.

               Their jaw twitched, breath coming in harder, and sweat starting to form on their body, causing their mid-length hair to begin to stick to their head, and giving their clothes an uncomfortable itch. The human glared at the Moldsmal, seething, the mere look causing the monster to shrink back some, before letting loose a pitiful attack out of fear for it’s life. It had a right to be scared.

               A little beaten down, the human continued through the ruins. Scrapes and bruises nagging at the edges of their mind as they tried to find satisfaction after that close encounter. The final Moldsmal didn’t really do anything for them, and the droves of Froggits they found and beat didn’t give them much by way of entertainment.

               Even stumbling on a few Vegetoid, hacking on and devouring the monsters, didn’t seem to fill the void the human was starting to feel. They were becoming bored with the area, having learned all the patterns and weaknesses of the monsters they faced, until a sweet surprise presented itself in the form of the timid Whimsun.

               Their first encounter would consist of chasing it in half glee and half frustration as the blubbering creature zipped and ran from one corner of a room to the other, never really staying in one place long enough to… enjoy. After losing sight of the first couple, they became enraged upon sighting them again, simply killing them outright, until they found a pattern in them, too, that they could exploit. A plan formed.

It was hiding in a corner of the room, shaking in anticipation and fear for what was to come. As soon as the human got close enough to engage and make a non-lethal strike, it dodged and ran away to another room. The human grinned wolfishly, starting off with haste to carry out their desires.

Being chased, the Whimsun was frantic, occasionally crashing into a wall trying to fly too fast or needing to land and run along the ground because it’s wings were tired, no matter what it tried to do the Whimsun couldn’t escape this feeling of being watched. It started to take flight again, as something hard struck it’s back, causing it to crash down to the floor again with an audible thud. Suddenly, the human loomed like a dark tower over the terrified creature, eyes darkened by the lack of light to the point that they looked like sunken, empty sockets, a slight smile on their face.

With single blow, the human severed one of it’s wings, turning it to dust before the screaming Whimsun on the floor. Another strike took the second, flying off to hit a wall with a small sound, raining even more dust, the creatures cries intensified, grim realization settling in to the fact it could no longer fly. The human closed in, setting the stick to the side for a moment as the monsters pleas were pushed through sobbing gasps of pain.

The human reached out with both hands towards the antennae, and yanked, earning a sharp cry from the already broken down Whimsun. While broken, the sensory organs were still intact, which was quickly rectified with a foot anchored onto the monsters head, and a leveraged pull. As they came off into their hands, the human marveled at the feel of them, their delicate form and shape, now twisted and broken. They reveled in the feeling of the parts dissolving in their very hands.

They equipped the stick again, arms and legs the next targets, all of which easily broken and pulped to their satisfaction. All turned to dust before finally being allowed a slow beating at the hands of a dust covered human and weapon, eyes wide and crazed, the sensation flooding their system with endorphins at the sight of the crippled, dying, and pleading monster.

They didn’t administer a decisive blow, exactly, but watched as the whimpering form folded in on itself, turning into yet another pile of dust that seemed to be littering the place lately, bringing a crooked smile to their face. These things were proving more interesting with every encounter, but were ultimately small fries compared to a new desire burning in their gut.

As if on cue, their phone rang. They picked up on the first ring, a womanly tone could be heard through the receiver, somehow it was a strangely welcome sound, almost intoxicating actually. Listening to the voice of their next victim, being blissfully unaware of the plans put into motion. Simple questions on what their favorite flavors were and the call was ended. Perfect, it was time to finish up this stroll through the ruins, the human decided that one last game was to be played before proceeding…

But nobody came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe a little more than a little?


	3. Getting complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little tension. An appetizer, if you will.

               They stalked the halls of the ruins, proceeding unhindered at a brisk pace. Every step forward sent the human’s heart racing another degree; it practically beat in their head. Breaths came in long and heavy, their excitement barely containable. They salivated in anticipation, their sudden grin spilling some down the side of their mouth, they didn’t bother to wipe it off, they were too dust-crazed to care.

               The further they walked, the more their footsteps seemed to pound like heartbeats, their breaths echoes off the walls, their vision tunneled to the point where only the direct path forward seemed to be in view. They laughed, the childish sound replacing that of their breathing, the vibrations being warped and thrown back completely distorted and redistributed into unholy cackles and whines that stretched out through the corridors.

               A split in the path first led them to what seemed to be a balcony, where they found an interesting… Toy. Satisfied with the find, they fastened it to themselves, storing the stick elsewhere, for future use. The utilization of only one tool seemed like such a waste. They backed out of the area they were in, and continued onto the other path.

               Their travels landed them in front of a tree, long dead, gnarled and grotesque by time and lack of appropriate growing conditions. It served as an apt symbol, they human thought, this icon of overall decay and desolation was exactly the goal they sought, it was fitting they found the tree this way, as if the environment anticipated their arrival.

               A shape came into view, the human knew instinctively what it was, and sure enough the boss monster walked gracefully around the tree, phone in hand muttering something under her breath, the human may have heart it clearly, if they weren’t so focused on imagine what other sounds that voice could make. At that moment, their own phone rang in their pocket. She hung her phone up upon seeing the human.

               “How did you get here, my child?” concern not only in her voice, but in her expression as well. How touching, “Are you hurt?” she asked, the human shrugged in response. “Here, I’ll heal you. I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try and surprise you like this.” She made a sound, as if having misspoke, and the rest of her words were muted to the human’s ears, they didn’t really care what they had to say. They were within arm’s reach of the only available target left in this place, and they wanted to savor the sight of her… unharmed, for the moment.

               Toriel made some kind of gesture to follow, words accompanied but they were hardly audible in the human’s current mental state. She led them to what appeared to be a house inside of the ruins, made of the same brick they’d seen their whole adventure thus far, the inside proved to be far different than anything they’d seen. The scent of baked goods, old wood, and an odd mixture of the musk of the overall ruins served as an interesting catalyst for the humans desire to twist and mangle the world around them.

               Toriel said something to the effect of welcoming then started to lead the human down the hallway, blissfully unaware to the fixated and crazed visage of the small human she was guiding. Eyes wide, mouth half open and twisted into a gaping kind of grin, dust covered, and slightly bloodied, there was no way they should have passed as an acceptable houseguest, but they attributed the oversight to some kind of past trauma.

               Every step she took was tantalizing in their own right, the movement teasing them to strike while her back was turned, urging those steps into a run. Every word she spoke, though the words weren’t clear, had their imagination running at the possibilities of what could be uttered and the tones that could be used. When Toriel stopped at a door, and laid a hand on their shoulder, it was all they could take not to bite it. They tempered their eager thirst with patience, soon.

               More words went unheard as she opened the door for them and ushered them inside, and ultimately left them alone chasing the sound of an alarm that was going off in another room. That was that, they were alone, and they desperately wanted to run after Toriel with knife in hand. They sighed, deep, tension pulling at every muscle in their body, it was harder to resist violence than they thought, a laugh bubbled out. They didn’t think they’d have to use quite that much restraint.

               They took some time to cool off, simply standing in place to regain composure, they never bothered taking a look at the rest of “their” room, or even the rest of the house as they exited. They made their way directly to Toriel, in some sort of living room area, seated in a chair with a book in her hands. She looked up from her reading as the human approached, a slight smile brightening her expression a little.

               With a slightly clearer mind, the human was able to catch more of what she said, but chose to ignore most of what she said due to boredom, rather than excessive dust-lust. She explained how happy she was to have company, that she had plans of some sort for them, and other tedious things. Patience wearing thin already, the human blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “So when can I go home?”

               They hadn’t really meant to talk much to her, or at all, but the result was fairly satisfying. Her face fell a little, expression tightening slightly, she quickly regained her composure and dismissed them, “What? This is your home now.” She looked around uncomfortably, her tone lost some of her bright charm. “Um… Would you like to hear about this book I’m reading?” she asked, unsure of how to handle the situation. This was interesting, an effective attack that didn’t involve bludgeoning or slicing.

               She started to read out of the book, not really waiting or listening for a response. She started to list off some random snail fact before being sharply cut off, “How. Do I. Leave.” The human asserted, voice flat and unforgiving. Toriel’s expression fell completely, hurt and hints of betrayal lined her face as she sputtered for some sort of response, watching her struggle for words filled the human with a sickeningly sweet feeling. She closed her eyes for a moment, “I have to do something. Stay here.” she got up, and walked out of the room, the human on her heels.

               She practically ran around the railings and stairs that led down into what appeared to be a basement or series of chambers. She was muttering something to the human that wasn’t quite caught; her overall body language exuded a kind of discomfort and pain. The human was ecstatic; maybe attacks on the psyche should be utilized more often. They both continued down the path until a large door with odd symbols could be seen. Piecing together strands of words Toriel used next, the human guessed it was the door out of this place, and into another filled with more things to see.

The human approached Toriel as her back was turned. Their heart ached with desires that would soon be realized. Upon hearing their heavy footfalls, she made a noise out of disappointment. “You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this.” The rest of her words were lost as she turned around.

               “I can agree with you, there.” Was the dry response.


	4. First Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Painful...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever to write, a habit I'd like to break, which was the purpose of this project. We'll see what happens as we go along.

They stared at each other in stagnate silence, the dusty smell of the small room before the door starting to clog the Humans sinuses; they stifled a sneeze with a cough. The sudden noise caused Toriel to jump a little, readying a flame in response. They could tell she was skittish, she didn’t want to do this, not really. The human smiled at her flinch, re-gripping the toy knife in their hands and releasing a bit of their own tension in a giggle, the sound soon flooding the room.

Toriel’s overall composure started to falter, despite her magical fire becoming more intense. “Small one-“

“Frisk” they cut her off, the syllables harsh, the S extended and K especially hard, punctuated with a grin.

“F-Frisk…” Toriel amended weakly, resolve dwindling, “You have to prove to me that you’re strong enough to survive past this door-“ She was cut off again by the tinkling of laughter from the small human. Her train of thought was lost.

“Prove to you? My strength?” Frisk took a couple casual steps toward Toriel, causing her to back up a couple herself, “I think there are a fair few things I can prove to you…” they let their threat hang in the . Frisk raised the knife, readying their stance and preparing for their first move.

Toriel took the words and the movement as the first attack, and quickly responded. Flames poured from her hands and flew towards Frisk in a flurry of patterns and shapes, all of which the human dodged, grin widening. Columns of flame would erupt from underfoot, only to be avoided gracefully. Laughter began to fill the room as beads of sweat started to dampen Toriel’s fur.

“You need to take me a little more seriously” the child-like voice teased, “Or is it that you can’t bear to harm a child?” they laughed again, the sounds bouncing off the walls becoming more warped with every echo. “Maybe you need a little… motivation.” Frisk lunged at Toriel, earning a surprised gasp and a sharp cry of pain as the human sliced into her arm, the killing intent behind the blow causing a gash much deeper than one could think possible by a mere toy knife.

Toriel jumped back, clutching the hurt arm, shock and despair on her face. The wound didn’t appear to produce any blood, just as with the other monsters, maybe size didn’t matter after all. There seemed to be a steady flow of dust coming from the gash.

“Y-you… You really hate me, don’t you?!” Toriel gasped, “How could I be so blind to think you were the one who needed-“she was cut off by a stab to thigh, Toriel screamed in pain.

Frisk’s grin widened, “That’s the only sound I want to hear coming out of your maw!” they twisted the blade, cackling as Toriel’s screams reverberated off the walls, Frisk felt them warm their body. The human drove their small fist into the side of Toriel’s face with a huff, temporarily cutting off the noise and pushing the boss monster backwards on her feet.

Toriel leaned backwards into the door, terror twisting her stomach as she let loose another fire storm in hopes of repelling her foe. The human jumped back and evaded the various blasts that were launched, then rushed in for another attack.

“Stay away from me!” Toriel screeched, bathing the immediate vicinity in fire, desperation settling into her mind. She continued her defense, now allowing the stalled human to recovery completely, sending fireballs in spiraling patterns after the human.

Frisk twisted and turned away from the flames, the attacks were becoming more intense as Toriel’s magic threatened to swallow them whole. They ran between bursts of flame only to be facing a solid inferno forming a wall between themselves and their target. They flew to one end of the room to get around the defense, causing Toriel to lower the wall and step away from the door and more into the center of the room, throwing more fire to offset the direct assault.

Her attacks were becoming more desperate, fire flying from her hands in erratic and unpredictable patterns. Toriel was losing her mental fortitude, fighting for survival at this point was her only motivation, she limped further away from the door as the human took the spot she was in before, blocking the door to the rest of the underground.

“Y-you have no need to do this…” Toriel whimpered, “The way out… is just beyond that door” She needed to buy some time for herself, distract that psycho by whatever means if it meant extending her life. “S-s-surely… there are m-more interesting… things to do t-than k-killing me… out there.” She stuttered between gasps of air, slowly backing out towards the hallway into her home.

Frisk laughed softly, the sound barely reaching even Toriel’s ears in this cramped space, “Kill you?” They laughed, a little louder this time, “Oh, sweetheart, I don’t JUST want to KILL you!” Their laugh turned into an animalistic howl, “Oh how WASTEFUL that would be! To just kill something as interesting as you! No, Toriel, I intend to-“A fireball hurtled towards Frisk midsentence, forcing a hasty dodge. Their grin widened, “Now now, did you expect that sucker punch to work?” they laughed, as the second ball went unnoticed and landed a direct strike to the chest, taking Frisk off their feet and slamming them into the wall and crashing to the floor in a heap.

 

 

 

“Oh Gods, Oh gods...” Toriel limped as quickly as she could through the corridors of what was essentially her basement, unsure how well that attack worked out for her longevity. If that… thing, survived, chances were she’d be swiftly dealt with. Toriel climbed up the stairs leading into the entry room of her home, wincing with every step as the extra exertion on her leg caused more pain to surge through her body.

She thought about bolting immediately, but the steady streams of dust spilling from both wounds lead her to her own bedroom, where she tore up some old clothes and dressed the gashes as well as she could. Nothing like this had happened before, she couldn’t recall a time where a monster was grievously injured and didn’t just immediately turn to dust shortly after. Dread tickled her spine, she had to leave this place immediately.

Out of her room and into the hallway, she picked up the pace a little, sounds coming from the bottom of the stair case froze her at the railings, however. “Torieeeelll~” sang the voice, the innocent sounding tones chilled her core, “Toooriiieeeeeell~~” it called again, the voice getting closer and being accompanied by heavy slaps of feet on solid stone steps. A wave of panic blanketed her sense of judgment as she sent waves of flame down the stairs, then all around her, coating the walls and shelves in fire.

“STAY AWAY FROM ME!” Toriel screamed, books and pictures withering instantly as the intensity of the flames increased around her, hugging the walls and climbing onto the ceiling. Tears rolled down her face in waves as she burned everything she loved in an attempt to end this nightmare before it took off.

The flames cackled violently as they started to swallow the small home, making their way down the halls and into the various rooms of the small home. Toriel stumbled out of the front door, nearly falling to her knees when she was clear. Fire and smoke poured out of doorway as waves of heat lapped at her body. She rose and turned to face her home as it burned.

Just inside the doorway, a form appeared, and shortly after Frisk stepped out. The front of their shirt was scorched and revealed blackened skin, the wound still producing its own smoke as it smoldered. The edges of their clothing were crisped, smoke and sweat mixed together to dirty their face. Their brown eyes were rimmed red, grin remaining firmly in place.

Toriel ran, despite her injuries, fear seeping into the corner of her mind as she nearly tripped over her own feet trying to get away. Past the dead trees and through the cross way to go deeper into the ruins, she was determined to put as much distance between her and this demon as possible, all the while trying to ignore the sounds of laughter following her.

Even injured, Toriel managed to fly through the rooms, resetting disabled traps and checking over her shoulder for the nightmare cackling through the ruins behind her. Every flickering shadow that flames cast caused her to flinch. Every small sound that bounced off the wall made her cringe in anticipation. Every pile of dust she passed caused tears to fall from her eyes.

Toriel had closed in on the first trapped room, with the buttons on the floor, and attempted to activate the trap to close the door behind her. Successful, she started to head out of the room; unfortunately she knew the respite would be short-lived. Every trap from the defending side had a release switch to deactivate; it was simply a matter of finding it in some cases. Other traps weren’t very difficult to solve, the solutions would simply be on the other side of the trap so all it took was time.

Out of the first room, and into the caverns, her dread slowly crept up on her and a sense of claustrophobia began to clutch at her throat. There was no way out through here, sure there were holes in the ceiling, but no possible way to climb the rock face, they’d all tried when they were banished here. Toriel came to rest in front of a patch of golden flowers bathed in the moonlight that was allowed from above, their familiarity made her heart hurt.

Echoes from further in the caves chilled Toriel to her core; it had already made it through the doors. She sobbed, “Please…” Her weakened voice barely filling the space she was in, “Please don’t do this to me…” she wasn’t sure if the human could hear her as they were still quite the distance away, but at the same time she wasn’t sure she was even talking to them.

It was faint, but laughter started to trickle in from the far end of the cave system, it sounded like the human was coming up to the first archway. The sounds grew, and as the volume increased so did the distortion of sound. Toriel could move, not that it would do her any good anyways, so she simply stayed knelt in front of the patch of flowers with her back turned to the only way through.

Footsteps soon joined the laughter, their heavy falling adding even more warping to the voice, and a distinct scraping of something along the walls joined shortly after. Toriel could practically feel the sounds as they assaulted her. She tensed up as the funneled sounds eventually opened up to consume the room behind her, then suddenly stopped.

Toriel held her ground, the abrupt silence felt suffocating, even still she held her breath. She couldn’t feel anything, no presence behind her, no laughter, no slicing into her, just dead silence. She rose, uncertain, and slowly turned around, her heartbeat attempting to fill the absence of sound. But nobody was there. She took a tentative step closer attempting to peer through the darkness, to no avail.

She let out the breath she’d been holding in, not sure what to think.

“Tooriieeeel” Was whispered from behind.

 She spun around towards the flowers again and there it was, staring at her charred and bloodied, she shrieked as she instinctively threw fire at the child, lighting the patch of flowers up instantly as the human slipped away into the shadows. Toriel began flooding the room in pillars of fire attempting to prolong her life any way she could, a renewed terror buzzing in her mind.

 

 

Frisk was too fast for her, dodging left and right and easily keeping out of reach of the flames as the heat started to fill the room. They laughed and closed the distance, genuinely having fun playing with the goat-monster’s head, while slashing out with both the stick and the toy knife, the killing intent behind the weapons making them incredibly dangerous as they made contact with Toriel’s lower legs.

Toriel screamed in agony as her legs were severed at the knee and turned to dust in front of her eyes. On the ground, she propped herself up with one arm, and readied a fireball with the other. Frisk lashed out with the toy knife and practically obliterated the hand, the resulting cloud of dust covering both of them.

Toriel began to crawl away, sobs coming in hard and throwing her off balance, Frisk took the opportunity lunge at her again; Toriel suddenly turned and threw a fireball with her one good arm, grazing the human’s face and causing them to screech in pain of their own, the sound was unholy coming from the apparent child.

Rage took over as Frisk hacked at the Boss monster, stray pieces breaking off and turning to dust almost immediately. Her pleas for her life came in, then, but were muffled by the sheer amount of dust-lust as they continued to hack at and beat Toriel to death. She finally stopped moving, perhaps fainting from the pain. Crippled, missing both legs, an arm, and sporting several deep gashes that covered her entire body, Frisk tossed the toy knife aside to brandish the stick alone.

They positioned themselves by Toriel’s face, and drove the stick into her eye socket, the sudden attack forcing her awake with screams, Frisk quickly followed suit with the other eye then stood back. They watched the creature writhe in pain, screaming. Toriel was attempting to grab at the human, when that failed she began to throw fire helplessly around her, tears were pouring out of her sockets.

Frisk began to laugh again, the sound leading Toriel to their location along with bouts of fire that were easily evaded. Her futile attempts at revenge filled Frisk with determination. They made a realization, this is what they wanted to do, break these being’s core character.

More unearthly screams came from Toriel as she continued to throw wave after wave of fire where Frisk was last, before her arm fell, exhausted. Frisk retrieved the toy knife, the scraping of plastic on rock as it was picked up got Toriel’s attention. Without a word, they tossed the knife onto Toriel’s chest.

She flinched as the object landed on her, “What…” her voice was hoarse.

“End it”

“I don’t under-“

“Do you want out of this?” They gestured with their hands around the room, the effect being lost as Toriel had no eyes, which caused a small bout of giggles to escape.

“What kind of sick joke is this?” she almost whispered, full of disgust.

“I don’t joke, Toriel, if you want out, end your own life.”

“Are you insane?!” Toriel’s voice cracked, “What is the meaning of this?! What do you possibly stand to gain from doing ANY of this?!”

Frisk laughed, Toriel’s renewed frustration giving them warm feelings in their limbs. “Nothing.”

“I refuse to participate in this madness!” She punctuated the statement with a fireball that fell pitifully short of the intended target. “You can’t make me do this…” She whimpered, drained.

“I don’t have to make you do anything, look at yourself… wait” They laughed, tears almost spilling over at the effort, “You want this to happen, you NEED this to happen, because I’ll just leave you here to whither. If you want out NOW, YOU have to end it now.”

She took the toy knife in a shaky hand, “Damn you, child.” She sobbed, but her resolve remained intact," I hope you get what’s coming to you.” Her hand wavered for a moment then Toriel thrust the dagger into her own heart. Her body turned to dust.

There was an odd energy left behind on her death, and Frisk absorbed it before realizing what it was. Her soul felt warm inside their body, next to their own, and they smiled at the thought as a new power filled them. They let out a sigh, the experience over with. Burns they’d suffered began to fester and sting, but the pain did nothing to dull the euphoria of the kill. They’d have to make the next one even better.

They retrieved the toy knife from the pile of dust, and casually strolled their way through the ruins. They eventually found themselves at the smoldering remains of Toriel’s home. “Maybe there’s something I can salvage for these burns.” If not, at least they could rest a minute before heading through that big door.

The stench of burnt wood and lingering smoke filled Frisk’s lungs, but they didn’t mind it, the destruction they’d managed to wretch out of Toriel was satisfying in its own right. They rummaged through burnt piles of clothes, papers, and furniture and assembled a small pile of provisions; they assembled a little pile of softer materials that had survived the inferno to sleep on. They didn’t need to go out just yet, they’d let the wounds heal, and the burns fade before interacting with anyone else.

They lied down on their pile, “Get well soon” they whispered to themselves with a giggle, and drifted off to sleep.


	5. The Laziest Lookout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk moves onward into the underground, emerging into the oddity that is the area of Snowdin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, but for those still looking out for it, here you go!

Rooms turned black with ash and threatening collapse seemed to fade away as Frisk made their way from the room they’d slept in to what was left of stair case leading to the doorway below. When finally they were greeted with the strangely marked stone gate they couldn’t help but sigh in longing. Memories of this room wouldn’t leave them for a while.

It seemed impossible for their small form to accomplish, but they eventually pushed the doors open into an even more impossible white light. Frisk thought it curious that so much natural light could even penetrate to an underground place such as this. Even more curious that there’d even be snow on the ground.

The soft crunches their battered shoes made as they punched holes in the surface of the snow was oddly satisfying, the air was crisp and chilled. Something like a mild winter morning seemed etched into eternity to this place, and the very feeling filled Frisk with a desire to see it all burn to the ground, a theme that had taken hold of them as of late, not that they’d complain.

Dead trees as far as the eyes could see, their rot and decay seemed to stretch into the horizon with only a path forward and behind to traverse. Frisk couldn’t help but wonder what other kinds of… things they’d encounter on the road ahead, wherever that may lead. They fruitlessly pounced on a very large branch that had fallen some time ago into the snow, smaller pieces breaking off but the main body of the thing remaining unfazed. Unconcerned with something that they couldn’t even get a reaction from, they pushed forward. They’d be sure the next thing they decided to jump on would be given a satisfying end, to their own taste at any rate.

Something shifted in air, like a change of pressure in the atmosphere, and suddenly there was a massive sound of splintering behind them. Frisk whipped around to see what the noise was, to find that the large branch was suddenly in pieces, but absolutely no sign of what had done it. They crouched low to the ground, not that it provided any cover on the barren part of the path they were on, and approached the obliterated piece of wood.

Indeed it was so, completely smashed into the ground and in shambles was the branch that yielded a little more than a couple shreds of bark when Frisk jumped on it. Whatever did this would have had to be heavy, but with the lack of evidence around as to what even did it, that meant it had to be some powerful force instead.

Frisks skin crawled, excitement bubbling over in the form of a crazed grin on their face. They looked around wide-eyed, not out of caution or fear, but in delight in this possibly new challenge that had presented itself. How long had it been watching? Did it know about the demise of the goat woman? Would it be seeking revenge? Or would it be oblivious?

They waited for a moment, but no clear signs of the thing pointed to its return, so Frisk continued on the path forward eventually coming to a stop at a bridge with what appeared to be a gate, though any normal sized creature could easily pass. Either it was intended to keep out larger things, or the constructor was a moron.

Slow, soft crunches in the snow behind them interrupted their thoughts, excitement quickly intertwined with curiosity as Frisk resisted the urge to whip around to look at what was producing the noise, for fear that it would disappear as before, assuming it was the same force that demolished the branch.

A deep voice reverberated in the air, easily filling the space between Frisk and the unknown creature. The syllables were drawn out, and spoken painstakingly slow, to the point where the actual words were lost in Frisks thoughts. They turned around slowly, still unsure if words spoken were greetings or threats, to see a skeleton in a blue jacket and slippers standing before them. With more words they held out a hand and said something else, but Frisk was awestruck. Their skeletal features were oddly distinct, though appeared to be modeled after a human skeleton. It was disturbingly beautiful how the lazy grin of this creature played across its face and features shifted, smile never fading completely, into something more confused or concerned.

The figure gestured towards the bridge, saying something that was once again lost to the void, but the general meaning was understood. Without much thought Frisk walked the short bridge to the other side, trying to gather their wits about them and focus on the task at hand, they’d have to scope out the true power of this being before hacking and slashing, but still they trembled with the promise of violence.


End file.
